Pictures of Lily
by xandromedax
Summary: Snapshots through the life of Lily Luna Potter, from birth to death. Watch her as she grows up, goes to Hogwarts, finds love, and lives life her own way. Companion story to "Shades of Gray"
1. Birth

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

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The only sound in the waiting room was that of the slight squeaking of Harry Potter's shoes as he paced. He paused in one of his circuits around the room, and glanced at the red haired man sitting patiently in the corner with a similarly red haired baby squirming on his lap.

"Its ten-thirty," the man said, catching Harry's eye. Harry nodded, and wordlessly turned away, resuming his pacing. He was in St. Mungo's, awaiting the arrival of his third child. A girl, the Healers had said. His wife, Ginny, was in the room across the hall, perhaps giving birth right now…he swallowed and turned sharply, wondering if he should find a Healer to ask if it was normal to take so long, since it was already longer than it had taken James and Albus to be born.

"Calm down, mate," Ron said reassuringly. "Hermione and Mum are in there with her, along with lots of Healers. She'll be fine." Harry snorted at Ron's advice, remembering when Rose had been born. Ron had been pacing just as Harry was doing now, and had eventually gotten so anxious he had to be given a Calming Drought. Despite this, when the Healers had come to tell him he had a daughter, Ron had fainted. Suddenly, there was a loud yawn from behind him. Distracted, Harry looked at his eldest son, who was sleepily rubbing his light brown eyes.

"Daddy, I'm sweepy," he mumbled. "Wanna go home." He pouted at his father, who sighed and shook his head.

"Not yet, James. You're going to have a new sister soon, remember? We have to wait here until she comes. Why don't you, uh, take a nap, like Albus is doing?" Harry gestured at his second child, who was fast asleep next to Teddy Lupin. Before James could protest, the door swung open.

"Mr. Potter, you have a healthy baby girl," a smiling Healer announced. Harry grinned and scooped up James and Albus in each arm as he raced out of the waiting room with Teddy, Ron, and the rest of the immense Weasley family at his heels.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"She's beautiful," Harry said in awe, looking into the tiny face of his newborn daughter. There was a tuft of flaming red hair just visible on the baby's head, and her eyes were tightly shut. The family was alone in the maternity ward, with the exception of Teddy, since the Healers had insisted the rest of the Weasley family stay outside for now.

"She looks like Mum," James observed, standing on the edge of Ginny's bed to get a good look at his new sister.

"James, don't do that, you'll fall," warned Ginny, cuddling Albus as he slept contently beside her. "Do you want to hold her, Teddy?" she asked the turquoise haired boy standing near her.

"Okay," he said as Harry gently placed the sleeping baby into his arms.

"I think we should name her Lily," Harry said, watching as the baby stirred slightly in Teddy's arms.

Ginny smiled knowingly. "That's perfect. Lily Luna Potter."

And so Lily Luna Potter came into the world.

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A/N I can't stress this enough-Please review! And by the way, the part about Ron fainting isn't my idea, I got it from another story, but I can't remember the author's name. So if its you, just send me a message and I'll credit you with that idea.

-xandromedax


	2. Six

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Harry Potter. If I did, would I be writing this? (Plus I'd be a lot richer)

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"And…_now!_" James whispered to his cousin and best friend, Fred Weasley. He had waited until his mother was far enough away that he and Fred could run for cover without being caught. The small golden ball (the latest merchandise from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes) fell from Fred's hand as the boys leaned over the banister and landed directly on top of the flaming red head of Lily. The instant the ball touched her hair, it dissolved, releasing pungent smelling Stinksap that covered her from head to foot.

The six year old dropped her toy broomstick in surprise, then examined her slimy green hands. She looked above her, wondering what had happened, and caught a glimpse of James' messy black hair and heard Fred's laughter as the boys made their escape. Realizing that she was once again a victim of James' and Fred's pranks, she burst into tears that made the Stinksap run down her cheeks, and rushed to find her mother.

"Mummy! Mummy! J-James and Fred put slime on me!" she sobbed as she saw Ginny at the kitchen table. Ginny threw down the quill she had been chewing thoughtfully as she worked on her article for the _Daily Prophet_ and stared at her slimy green daughter.

"James and Fred put Stinksap on you?" Ginny asked, taking out her wand and vanishing the Stinksap. Lily nodded, tears still streaming down her face.

"Don't cry, sweetie," Ginny comforted, hugging Lily. "It's all gone, see?" Lily sniffled in response. Ginny was saying something else now, but Lily wasn't listening. She was furiously remembering the many times she had been pranked…and now, she decided, she was tired of it. Why couldn't she prank them back? After all they had no trouble doing it to poor Al, and her. Maybe..she brightened as a new idea came to her. Maybe she could ask Uncle George for help! He owned Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, so he could help her. Her tears forgotten in her new idea, she didn't even notice as Ginny went upstairs to yell at James and Fred.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Mummy, can I help you make the tea?" Lily asked sweetly. It was time to put her brilliant plan (aided and abetted by Uncle George, of course) into motion.

"Of course, dear," Ginny smiled down at her youngest child, not suspecting in the least that Lily might have an ulterior motive.

"I can make it the way James likes it," Lily continued eagerly. Ginny smiled again at her daughter's enthusiasm as she helped Lily put the kettle on the stove, and instructed her to stand back as she turned it on. Soon, the tea was ready, and Ginny poured some into a cup and placed a few cookies next to it to take to the table for James, who was loudly and impatiently waiting. Lily volunteered to take the tea and cookies to James, but as soon as she was out of sight of the kitchen, she turned left and crept to her father's study. She held her breath as she entered the dark, somber room, and carefully put the tray with the tea on the floor. She reached into her pocket and took out a small dark bottle, labeled "X". Uncle George had told her that a quarter of the bottle would be enough. Remembering this, she tipped out the amount of dark liquid into the tea and mixed it with a spoon. It was completely safe, but had been charmed so it wouldn't disappear from any surface it touched for a month.

"Mum! Where are the cookies?" James yelled from the dining room. Lily hastily capped the bottle, shoved it into her pocket along with the spoon, and made her way to the dining room with the tray.

James looked at her suspiciously as she came into the room. "Where did you come from?" he asked. "The kitchen is the other way." Lily shrugged and carefully placed the tea on the table, watching as James picked up the cup and gulped it down, and then began to devour the cookies.

"What?" he said, catching sight of her midway through a cookie. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Nothing," she replied, and looked away to hide her smirk.

James' teeth were a magnificent shade of neon green.

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A/N Please don't hesitate to review! And by the way, I would like some more prank ideas...I'm not very good at coming up with them. :)

-xandromedax


	3. Eight

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

A/N Thanks to my reviewers, **EternalBookworm823**, and **victoriam549**.

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The sunlight streamed in the windows, illuminating the room, and gently touched the peaceful face of the small girl in the bed. As though she felt the sun on her cheeks through her slumber, she stirred, causing the stuffed hippogriff next to her (a gift from Hagrid) to fall to the carpet with a soft _flump_.

Lily cracked open her eyes and yawning, looked at her bedside clock. It was eight in the morning, but being a late riser, she turned over and pulled the pillow over her head to block out the sunlight. She was closing her eyes, trying to go back to sleep, when her door exploded open with such force that it bounced off the wall. Lily fell of her bed in shock and surprise, and managed to tangle herself up in her blankets as she landed in a heap on the floor. Groaning, she looked up into James' smirking face.

"Mum says wake up, Lily. Teddy's coming over to babysit us today, remember? He'll be here soon."

"Go 'way," Lily mumbled, attempting to untangle herself. Of course, how could she have forgotten? Still, she wished that Al had come to wake her up, or Mum or Dad. They would not have woken her up in such a _rude_ way.

"What was that, midget? Is ickle Lilykins annoyed?" James grinned as he left the room, obnoxiously leaving the door wide open, though he knew Lily liked her door to remain closed.

Grumbling under her breath (she wasn't little! She was eight!) Lily slammed the door after him and pulled her favorite Holyhead Harpies shirt over her head. She knew why James was acting so exuberant lately- he had just gotten his Hogwarts letter, and was jubilant at the thought of a whole year at a magical castle with Fred and without parental supervision. She sighed and combed her long red hair, wishing that she was the one going to Hogwarts.

"Lily!" Ginny shouted from downstairs. "We're leaving!"

"Coming!" Lily rushed down the stairs to find her mother and father wearing fancy dress robes for the Ministry party they were attending. But Lily barely noticed them, because standing a few feet away was one of her favorite people in the world.

"Teddy!" she screamed, and launched herself at the blue-haired teenager. Laughing, Teddy ruffled her hair and hugged her back as James rolled his eyes.

"Alright, we're going to the party now," Ginny said as Harry checked his watch. "We'll be back in a few hours, so _behave yourselves_," she continued, looking pointedly at James, who immediately assumed his most innocent look. Ginny wasn't fooled. "I'll be asking Teddy how you behaved," she warned, as she and Harry left.

As soon as they were gone, Teddy turned to the three children. "Who wants a game of Exploding Snap?"

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An hour later, Lily was sitting in the living room, quite bored. She had stopped playing the game after her eyebrows were badly singed, though Teddy had fixed them. Teddy, James, and Al were still playing, however. As she sat in her father's favorite chair, drumming her heels against the bottom, an idea occurred to her. She could go to the playground across the street! It wasn't that far away, and though she had never been there alone, it certainly seemed like a more exciting way to spend her time than staring at her brothers' baby pictures opposite her.

She slipped on her trainers and carefully opened the front door, glancing behind her to see whether Teddy had noticed her. Since she still heard faint laughter and shouts from the other room, she decided she was undetected, and sneaked outside.

It didn't take her long to get to the playground. There was only one other kid there, a boy with light brown hair who was bending over something on the ground. Lily glanced at him, and then ignored him as she went straight to her favorite swing. She grinned as she began swinging and felt the wind in her hair. She pumped herself higher and higher, laughing delightedly as she soared through the air. This was almost like flying-she closed her eyes, imagining herself on a broomstick-

"Excuse me?" A voice interrupted her thoughts. Frowning, she dragged her heels in the mulch, and crunched to a halt.

"What?" she asked, annoyed. The boy was standing in front of her, holding out something.

"You-you dropped something," he stammered, and Lily recognized her favorite ring, which had a small stone that changed colors according to her mood. It had been her birthday gift from Rose, her cousin.

"Thanks," she said, taking it back. The boy blushed and mumbled something.

"What?" she asked, frowning again.

"I said, my name is Tyler, Tyler Armstrong," he repeated.

"Oh, uh, my name's Lily Potter," Lily replied, wondering why Tyler was talking to her. She glanced behind her anxiously. She should probably head home now, before Teddy noticed she was gone.

"You like rocks?" Tyler said in a rush, holding out a small purple stone.

"Er, sure," Lily said, uncertain. This kid was weird. Tyler gave the rock to her, and she stared at it.

"It's called amethyst," he ventured, when she didn't say anything. "You can keep it, I have a few more," he added shyly.

"Er, thanks," she said. Tyler blushed again, and looked down at the ground.

"Listen," she said hastily, taking advantage of Tyler's momentary silence. "I have to go now." She turned and began walking away quickly, worried that Teddy had noticed her absence. As she was leaving the playground, she heard Tyler's voice.

"It was nice meeting you, Lily," he called.

"Yeah, same," she called back. She opened her hand and looked at the beautiful purple rock. _Amethyst_. Smiling slightly, she slipped back inside her house, relieved to still hear faint laughter. She couldn't honestly say she wanted to meet him again, but she had certainly never met anyone like him before.

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A/N I might not update for a few days because I have final exams next week. The stuff about Tyler collecting rocks is kind of random, but will come in later in the story.

-xandromedax


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